Deadly footbridge 3,000 cross each day in Zambia

The Linda-Libuyu Footbridge in Livingstone has been in need of repairs for many years. Day by day another plank falls into the river leaving a yawning gap. Walking along is like playing hopscotch as people jump from side to side to avoid the holes where planks are missing. 

There are over 1,000 crossings each day by school children.  We decided to hold a competition for the schools in our area in order to give a voice to our young people on what they felt about the footbridge. We recently held the event where the schools were able to present their creative entries into the competition.

I was personally amazed by the standard of the poems, drama, music and art which we saw and heard. Every performance drew on our emotions as they related stories of scared children trying to cross whilst others avoided school because they were so afraid. Other stories included older people who slipped and fell and needed doctor's treatment. There were pleas to the local authorities to do something before a real tragedy occured. And we had a short sketch where the actor was the actual bridge and related how people were treating him and neglecting him. Some really excellent portrayals were given which also showed confidence in their delivery.  Interns from Destination Livingstone have been working in some after school clubs in environment, art and drama, and their efforts showed up clearly in the performances.

The judging was very tight and in the end we created a few more prizes as every school deserved recognition. The top school for both number of entries and content was Linda Community School with Jenipher Mwangala, a student in the same school, awarded the top individual performer prize.

We continue to raise funds for the repairs of the footbridge so that we can help get the footbridge that these young people deserve.